Back to Zer0
by Aliceindeath
Summary: This is a continuation (part two) of my previous story, "Science and Asskickery". Gaige has a new boyfriend, Zer0, but can she balance saving Pandora, and ultimately, the universe, and still have time to go out for dinner?
1. Chapter 1

_**Gaige**_

The goliath's head fell off, and I knew the fun was about to begin. He started raging and yelling about how he was going to "rip my body to pieces." I started laughing harder than I should have. I ran, careful not to stray too far to lose its attention, while Maya came up behind him and phase locked him. I broke off the hold off the rats while Krieg jumped off the nearby roof and cut the goliath's body in half. I took a break after all the commotion, and sat down on a roof overlooking the smoking remains of the new, well, former, bandit clan. Axton, Salvador and Krieg piled the bodies in a heap and set them on fire, while Zero and Maya scavenged the area for ammo, health, money and any other supplies. I lifted my shirt, just above my ribs, to examine a gash in my side, about 4 inches long, and fairly deep. Goddamn Varkids. I hated the lot of them. I enjoyed making them into badass mutants and killing them. I didn't care what Sir Hammerlock wanted with their body parts, but hey I got to kill them and I was not complaining. I decided to put a bit of snow in a ripped piece of tarp from a nearby tent and applied it to the cut while I waited for Zero to get back. I sat back and crinkled my nose at the smell of burning flesh, but I was used to it by that point. Before long, Zero and Maya got back. It wasn't a huge area, so there wasn't much to explore. Zero came up to me and spoke, a bit out of breath.

"We finished clearing the place. We got all the supplies we could… but we'll still be short a bit this week. But we- what happened to you?" he grabbed the needle with a deep red liquid, almost like blood, and carefully placed the thin metal tube in my side, right above the cut. He was so precise and fast with his actions; like everything was calculated and thought out. And it was. Inside his head, it seemed like there was a small display screen, showing him everything about everybody. He almost never messed up. The whole relationship thing was very new to him. Being with another being for this long wasn't what he was used to. He was used to solitude and distance, but being with me was everything but. My wound healed instantly. I breathed out slowly. The relief of my minor bruises and cuts made my overall state a lot better.

"Thanks, I needed that."

His tone lightened. "You're welcome. Glad I could help. Just out of curiosity, how many bandits did you kill before it was all over?"

I smiled. "46. How many did you kill?"

He laughed. "57. I guess I win."

"I didn't know it was a competition. In that case, let the games begin." I winked at him.

My gaze shifted towards Axton. I felt for him, I really did. His wife left him and kicked him out of the Dahl military force. She not-so-subtly suggested he run away to the border planets, and he went AWOL and found himself here. He kept saying that it was his fault, which it was, but his guilt was eating away at him. We could all see it. Salvador, on the other hand, was born and raised on Pandora. All the steroids he used through his life stunted his growth, but he was still one of the most intimidating bastards I had ever seen. Maya had been controlled since infancy, used to scare the people of her home planet and as leverage by her handlers, the monks from the Order of the Impending Storm. She fled here to learn about her Siren lineage, and got sucked into this crap by Handsome Jack. Krieg was once a vault hunter, so we think, and is constantly struggling with his inner voice, and must strain to not kill the innocent. And my Zero… My Zero was an assassin for hire. He has no backstory. He just came here for a challenge, and damn I hope he found one. All these people around me were from broken homes, with tragic backstories, and then there's me. I'm just here because I screwed up, and yet these people have more hope and more happiness than I do. I have no real reason to be sad, and yet I've found myself more depressed lately. Axton says it's because I'm only 18, and I shouldn't go through this, but I know I'm stronger than that, and I know they know it too. I just have to show them.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Zero**_

I was worried about her. I knew that before all this, before us and before Pandora, she wasn't in this danger, this violence. On Eden-5, it was relatively peaceful. But she was forced into this, thrust into a world full of death and bandits, and Hyperion. She didn't deserve this life. She deserved something better. Much better. One where she could be free of danger and death, and create and build whatever she wanted. I craved a world like that for her, but I knew she wouldn't have it any time soon. I didn't want to lose her in the months ahead, and goddamn it I was scared. I knew she could handle herself, but her facing all this, at this age, was frightening. I didn't want this for her, but I knew she wanted it, to a degree. But, in some ways, that's what scared me the most.

Maya came up to me after the attack. "Hey, you ready to head out to look for supplies?"

I breathed in deeply. "Yes, I am adequately prepared."

She laughed. "You can drop the act. We all know you don't talk like that around Gaige."

"It was how I have spoken for a while. Old habits are hard to break. I try my best around her, but it isn't always successful."

We left the camp, looking around for supplies and health, or anything useful. I sighed. "We'll be short this month again, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do. You know, you shouldn't give all your rations to Gaige all the time. You need food too. Judging by how skinny you are, you need it."

"I have always been this 'skinny'."

"If you say so. All I'm saying is that you need your strength too. You're one of the most important members of our group."

I ignored her. It wasn't true. I wasn't. I knew exactly who the most precious person in our group was, and that was Gaige. No one could convince me otherwise. All the more reason to keep her safe.

"Hey, I think we got everything. Wanna head back then? See how they're doing?"

I nodded. I zipped up the backpack, not quite full, but enough to keep us going for a while. We would bring these supplies back to Sanctuary, and we would start working on our plan to take down the rest of Hyperion.

We got back to the entrance of the camp, and I saw that Gaige sitting on a ledge.

I went over to see how she was, taking an insta-health with me, just in case she needed it. "We finished clearing the place. We got all the supplies we could… but we'll still be short a bit this week. But we- what happened to you?"

I grabbed the insta-health, and gently lifted up her shirt. I placed my hand over her wound, and quickly injected the pink liquid. It healed almost instantly.

"Thanks, I needed that." She gave me a little smile of gratitude.

I smiled back through my helmet, but she couldn't have seen it, but it seemed like she knew. "You're welcome. Glad I could help. Just out of curiosity, how many bandits did you kill before it was all over?"

She smiled wider. "46. How many did you kill?"

I laughed. "57. I guess I win."

"I didn't know it was a competition. In that case, let the games begin."

I loved her competitive spirit. If we were going to be doing this for a while, at least making a game out of it would make it more interesting, and give her something to focus on. I smiled at her, sadly, but she couldn't tell. Not this time. She starred off, looking like she was miles way. I let her think. I was sure whatever she was thinking about was better than what was happening here.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Gaige**_

We headed back to Sanctuary, ready to give the relief efforts the supplies that we collected. We didn't have a lot, but it didn't matter. They would appreciate it regardless. I wanted this to be over, but I didn't want it to end at the same time. I liked what I did, and I felt bad about it.

Roland came and met us when we got back. "Hey, Vault Hunters. Did you have a good haul?"

Axton shook his head. From all three bandit camps, we only got about… let's see…" he sprawled out what we got on the table. "50 shotgun shells, 12 rocket launcher rockets, 35 insta-health's, 23 SMG rounds, and… 15 grenades."

Roland sighed. "The relief efforts will appreciate the health, and the raiders will appreciate the extra ammo. Thank you, you did good, guys. You deserve a break. Take it easy. We'll come and get you when we need something else."

I sighed. He said "when" and not "if". I didn't mind doing things for him. I liked it. But I pained me to see how much they needed help, and how short-handed they were. I walked over to see Marcus. I figured that if I wasn't going to do anything, I may as well practice for when I will need to do something. I pulled out my electric elemental sniper, and aimed it at the dummy's head. The damage was about 150k, with the bee shield. I shrugged. Not bad. With the bee, I could one-shot most of the bandits we met, but the capacity on the shield wasn't great. I switched my weapons a few times, just to test how much damage it did, and how fast I could reload it. I realized that I was pretty tired, so I shut my eyes for a few seconds. After about 45 minutes, I was done. I walked out of Marcus's basement, looking to find the others. I tried Roland's place first, but there was no one. Even Tannis, a more permanent resident of the HQ, was missing. I then headed down to see Scooter. Again, there was no one. Looking around, I didn't see anyone in Sanctuary.

"Hello?" I called out. "Hello!"

No response.

"HELLO?!"

Again, nothing. Just the echo of my voice, screaming back at me.

I kept screaming, but not a soul answered. I fell to my knees.

I heard Jack's voice. It pierced my ears, making me wince. "You're dead. I killed all your friends. I will kill you, but not before you suffer. You will be alone. Haha, bitch to be you right now."

I started crying. Sanctuary started to burn. Everywhere, it started to burn. I started running, but I felt frozen in place. I started burning too, caught in the fiery storm. I started screaming. It hurt so bad, I just wanted it to stop.

It hurt so much. It hurt. It hurt…

I felt pulled up, and then I was shaken awake.

I was still in a daze "Are you… you were… I…. he…d yo…" The person's voice started to fade out, and I fell back asleep. This time, it was a dreamless rest.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Zero**_

When I found Gaige lying in Marcus's basement, she was asleep, but crying and whimpering. I shook her awake, but she only opened her eyes briefly. When she slept again, she didn't stir, or make a sound. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms, and went to Roland's. I placed her carefully onto the bed, and lifted the sheets over her body. Her tears were still fresh, so I took a cloth and wiped them from her blushing cheeks. After I took care of her, I heard a soft knock at the door.

"She okay?"

I nodded, not turning to see who it was. "She just needed a bed, that's all."

"I saw her collapse onto the floor, and frankly, I was concerned."

The voice sounded familiar, but muffled. Something about its tone made me want to stay looking away. "Well, she's fine now. Thanks for stopping by."

The voice laughed. "Aren't you gonna turn around to see who I am?"

A shudder went down my back as I heard the words, and I slowly turned around. All I saw when I turned around was an Echo on the ground. The voice seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. It must've been modified somehow.

"Who are you?"

It just laughed. "You want to know? Well, I'll tell you. I am the thing you should be most concerned about. Not Hyperion, not The Warrior, but me. Just me."

The Echo's chip exploded, a self-destruct mechanism, destroying any hope I had at tracing it. I was uneasy that night, even after she woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Gaige**_

After I woke up, I still felt tired. I was thirsty, and my head was pounding. I racked my brain, trying to remember what I saw between my nightmare, and when I fell back asleep. But the memories of the early morning wouldn't connect together. It was like a "connect the dots", but having to clue which dots to link together. I sat up, rubbing my temples, and trying to focus. I noticed a burning smell in the fresh air, and saw that the smoke was coming from a dark patch on the floor, about 4 feet from the entrance. I knelt down, and swept my finger against the black remnants, and smelled ash. The smell of burning plastic was also faintly recognisable. I got up and brushed my hand against my tights, and left HQ to find Zero specifically, but I would have settled for any friend at that point. I headed to Scooter's, and figured that his redneck humour and opinionated comments on everything would make me laugh. The air was warmer than usual, with a cool breeze coming from the direction of Windshear Waste. I shivered slightly, and pressed on. I went to Scooter's, and found Scooter sitting by himself on a pile of tires.

"Hey. Where is everyone?"

"Up by Fyrestone. They left earlier this mornin'. Why d'ya ask?"

"Hm. They left without me! Argh, when they get back I swear I'm gonna-"

Scooter started laughing. I furrowed my brows together and spoke without humour. "Why are you laughing?"

He smiled. "Sometimes I forget that deep down, you're still that 17 year old girl from Eden-5."

The corner of my mouth twitched upwards as I tried, unsuccessfully, to hide my smile. I went back to the old pierce station where the fast travel station now stood, and waited. I thought about going to see them, but I didn't feel like leaving Sanctuary after my nightmare. Even though I felt terrified here in my dream, I felt more at home while I was awake. I was always a bit homesick for Eden-5, and my parents, so any sense of home I could feel was welcome, especially after what had happened. I sat on the bench near the new-u station and waited for about half an hour before I got up to get something to drink. I was nervous and sweating more than usual, even with the hot weather. I went down to Moxxi's and got a glass of cranberry juice. She didn't normally have any, but had some tucked away for me when I needed it. I paid her he 5$ for the drink and drank it slowly. I didn't feel like I was in any rush. Today, I wanted to take things slow. Even if they left Sanctuary without me, I was calm. Normally I would have been pissed off, but not today. After I woke up, I felt strange. I felt like there was something they weren't telling me. I thought our whole deal was to be honest with each other. That, if nothing else, was what tied us, and kept us, together through everything. I sat at the bar for a while. I didn't feel like moving, or leaving. I wasn't sure where I was comfortable anymore. I just wanted to stay in my own world, and wait for something meaningful to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Zero**_

Gaige was sleeping when we left, but I knew we wouldn't get back till dark. I worried about how she would react, but I knew she would be alright. She was mature for her age, and she would find something else to do to occupy her day, like upgrading his shield regeneration, or giving him laser vision like she was thinking about doing. I knew she would be alright, but I wasn't so sure how I would be. Finding that echo was, admittedly, terrifying. I didn't know who would've put it there, and whether or not we had a traitor in Sanctuary. The thought of someone behind our closed doors wanting to hurt everyone there, including my Gaige, scared me more than anything else. If they were well equipped, they could bring down all of Sanctuary. I knew from experience that one person on the inside could make all the difference. I couldn't sleep that night, worrying about everything I had heard and seen that day. I promised that I would talk to her about it in the morning. Despite how much I want her to stay a young teenager, she needed to know about the future, and how it would affect our plans. I loved her to death, I really did. And I was surprised, as well as happy, that she didn't come after us. I sat on a bench at the center of town, thinking about what to do. It was late, and the night sky was getting progressively lighter, but I still couldn't rest. I knew I had to get some sleep before I could effectively talk about strategies. After half an hour, I drank some water with a sleep inducer, and fell asleep faster than ever before.


End file.
